


Miles to go before I sleep

by cherryflesh



Category: Alien: Covenant
Genre: Coercion, David 8 being a creeper, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, I'm sorry Daniels, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Robot Feels, Robot Sex, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Walter is a cinnamon roll, dubious everything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-13 00:15:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11173008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryflesh/pseuds/cherryflesh
Summary: Takes place at the end of Alien: Covenant, BUT since David takes creepy to a whole new level in the novel, this is a mix of both. So: Daniels refuse to go into hypersleep. She needs to deal with some things first. David, masquerading as Walter, has to deal with the consequences of his actions.





	1. Between the woods and frozen lake

Daniels stared at the empty pod, trying to bring herself to step into it. Her limbs refused to obey her, something in the back of her mind was fighting her, urging her to stay awake. On the other side of the pod Walter watched her patiently.

”You’re next, Captain”, he finally said when her hesitation seemed to drag on. ”You’re last.”

She nodded her head yes, but the nod turn into a shake and she rubbed her arms and took a step back.

”I can’t. Not yet.”

Walter tilted his head, a slight crease of concern between his eyebrows.

”Why?” he inquired gently. ”Is something wrong?”

”No. Yes. I don’t know.” She raised her hand to her face, rubbing her eyelids hard with a knuckle. ”Everything’s fine.”

_Nothing’s fine._

Walter was silently waiting for her to elaborate and she shrugged helplessly.

”I can’t explain it”, she said, looking away from the face of her friend and colleague. A face that was horrifyingly familiar. ”I just need to be awake for a little while longer.” She hated how brittle she sounded, so she hurried past Walter and through the ship towards her quarters. A safe zone.

With the lock firmly in place – _why? The only people here were her and Walter –_ she curled up on the bed, pulling her legs up beneath her and backing up against the headboard.

_What are you afraid of? He’s far, far below on the planet. Probably in pieces._

She swallowed hard, rubbing her eyes again.

_Still in your head, though._

And that was the problem. An ordinary night’s sleep should be fine, she could throw off a nightmare and wake up, no problem. But the thought of sliding back into that cold well of sleep without the option to wake from it…

 _Seven years. Seven long years_.

That was an awful long time for her to fight him. For him to creep further into her mind, to corner her there and take her apart with his twisted, pitch-black affection.

 _”You stink of humanity”,_ his voice whispered from memory and she shivered. _”but I’ll love you just the same.”_

She had wanted to do more than spit in his face, she had wanted to scream at him, to make him aware than whatever he experienced wasn’t love, not even close, and neither was whatever he had felt for Elizabeth Shaw. That he tainted the very concept by speaking the word.

But as her saliva hit his face he started speaking of bodily fluids and her mind had shut down, speechless in terror.

She would be forever grateful that Walter had intervened. Strengthened by the memory, she tried to conjure up more memories of Walter to exorcise David from her mind.

_Walter’s smile as he looked at her expectantly after cracking one of his dry jokes. A smile that broadened every time he could coax a chuckle from her._

_His silent, comforting presence after Jacob’s death. His kind words, always freely offered and well-meant. His calm strength in any situation, no matter how dire._

She couldn’t remember ever seeing him angry, or afraid. Which made sense, she supposed. His facial expressions were very subtle, but she could tell when something concerned or displeased him. Perhaps the closest thing to anger she had ever seen from him it would be when he pulled his ’brother’ off of her and tossed him aside in almost exactly the same way David had thrown her earlier. Still, she might have imagined that. She probably had. When he had yelled at her to go, to run without him, part of her had wanted to stay. Knowing that she would only be in the way, perhaps even be a glaring vulnerability for David to expose, she had run.

Hoping that he would catch up. Heartbeat pounding in her throat, she had prayed for Walter to return to her safely. _Don’t make me face this without you._

Now, in hindsight, she wondered when she had begun to develop feelings for him. Sometime during their weeks-long travel to that Godforsaken place she had started to rely on him more and more. On his kind, blue eyes and soft drawl. To combat it, she used memories of her and Jacob to guilt herself into turning away when she found her eyes lingering. And she reminded herself daily that his kindness was programmed, the bond between them artificial.

The relief when he made it on-board cut her to the core.

It wasn’t artificial. Whatever it was, it escaped definition. Perhaps it didn’t need to be defined. _Maybe I just needed to accept it._ She had, tried to communicate it to him by gently patching him up in med bay afterwards.

What a cruel joke David had made of their fragile bond. That she couldn’t even get close to Walter in her thoughts without flinching.

In her mind’s eye the warmth drained from the blue eyes, the smile widening into a sharp Cheshire grin.

_Not you._

She shuddered and slid down the bed, shedding the white outfit designed for hypersleep and pulling the covers over herself.

_Never you._

* * *

David moved through the greenery, examining and tending to the plants as was on his schedule to do. As long as Daniels was awake, he had decided to keep up the pretense.

_For now._

He toyed with the thought of dropping hints, to see at what point she would arrive at the conclusion. She was exceedingly bright, so he had to be subtle about it if he wanted the game to last.

Or perhaps not. Perhaps he would indulge and enjoy the affection meant for his disappointment of a brother. Daniels had proven worthy, and she _did_ deserve a more… _creative_ companion. Watching her pit herself against his creation, a creature of far superior strength and primal cunning, he had been genuinely worried and convinced that his brood would end her. But she had emerged victorious, and his respect for her had expanded within him, bloomed into admiration. In this role, as a kind-hearted servant and confidant, he would be able to tempt her to love him back in a way he never could with Elizabeth. Elizabeth, who even in their most intimate moments of conversation still kept her wary heart guarded after the unfortunate incident with Dr. Holloway. Perhaps even fearing that his inquisitive nature would inspire him to experiment further.

A fear that, he had to admit, had not been _entirely_ unfounded.

”Walter.” Mother’s voice sounded from a nearby speaker. ”Something is wrong with Captain Daniels. She is in her quarters. Please investigate immediately.”

”I am on my way, Mother”, David said, walking briskly towards Daniels’ room. ”What is the nature of the situation?”

”Captain Daniels is hyperventilating and does not wake up when prompted.”

_A nightmare?_

”I see. I will see to it immediately.”

”Thank you, Walter.”

David raised a brow at the politeness, pleasantly surprised. Perhaps things _had_ changed. He had not had the opportunity to observe much of the interaction between Walter and the crew, so he had limited knowledge about their attitude towards him.

When he reached the door he pressed the door chime and waited. No response. He pressed it again, and still nothing. Frowning, he used the verbal safety override and the door slid open with a hiss. Visual sensors adjusting effortlessly to the gloom as he approached the bed. Daniels was stretched out on her back beneath the covers. Cold sweat made the light fabric cling to her body. The only movement apart from the occasional twitch of a finger or leg was the rapid rise and fall of her chest, the only sound that of her quick, shallow breaths. David watched her impassively.

”Nuh- _nohhh…”_ The sound was small, animal-like in its distress. David hesitated, but sat down at the edge of the bed. No doubt she was fighting the creature again. Not winning this time, it seemed.

”Danny”, he said softly, finding the use of the nickname pleasant on his tongue. Intimate. ”Wake up.”

When the words failed to rouse her, he took a gentle hold of her shoulder with his remaining hand. He barely made contact before her dark eyes opened wide, her mind rising to the surface so fast the nightmare followed.

”Captain Daniels”, he said, trying to soothe her as her lips parted on a choked scream and she scrambled out of reach, dark eyes brimming with terror. ”It was just a bad dream. The creature is dead, I assure you.”

”W-Walter..?” she whispered, her voice a dry rasp. He noted the wetness silently trailing down her cheeks before she wiped them away in embarrassed, jerky motions.

”Of course. How are you feeling?” he asked and stood up, moving deliberately slow as he fetched her a glass of water, as to not alarm her further. She accepted the glass with a weak laugh.

”I’m a goddamn mess, is how I’m feeling.” She took a sip of water, then fell silent.

David itched to know more about the nightmare. How did the creature behave in it? How did it win? Was it bigger, stronger, faster? More intelligent? Finally, he could stand it no longer.

”Perhaps it would be good for you to talk about it”, he ventured carefully. _Gently now. Created to serve, remember?_

She shook her head, staring into the water glass.

”Don’t really want to talk about it”, she mumbled. After a discreet sniffle, she looked up and gave him a weak smile that faded almost instantly. ”He can’t hurt me anymore, anyway.”

It took David a moment longer than it should have to grasp that she meant _him._

 _She dreamed of_ me _?_

The thought would have been much more enjoyable had it not been for the fact that he apparently had been the star of a nightmare. Examining the memories of their interactions, he found nothing that should warrant such an extreme reaction. Indeed, he had been careful not to injure her. As for the rest… he had not even decided upon what to do with her, only that he would grant her an essential role in furthering the development of his creation. Surely his brief speculations had not been more frightening than being hunted by the creature itself?

”I never asked you what he did”, he prodded, careful to mimic Walter’s accent and tone of voice. He hoped that she would elaborate, and waited patiently as silence stretched between them.

”He, um, kissed me…” she began, her hand trembling so much that had the glass still been full she would have spilled water on the bed sheet. ”Well, first he, um… threw me around. Um.” She cleared her throat, seeming unable to meet his eye. ”He said, um, he said…” Here she trailed off, but not, he suspected, for lack of memory. Instead she chose to pick up another thread. ”I couldn’t get away”, she finished. When she looked up, her eyes were stark. He would have liked more details, a more specific re-telling of a story that was pleasurable enough in his own memory.

Instead he schooled his features into a visage of comforting calm.

”He cannot hurt you, Daniels.” He allowed himself a tender smile. ”And you know that I wouldn’t.”

She sniffled again, and this time her smile was genuine.

”I know you wouldn’t, ever”, she said, putting the glass to the side before shimmying back down under the covers.

”Is there anything I can do?” David asked, watching in rapt fascination her face betray her internal struggle.

”Could… could you stay? For a bit. I know you’re busy, it’s just… for a bit? If you have time.”

”Certainly. Should I get a chair?” he asked, curious as to how much closeness she wanted.

At length, she nodded.

_Ah. Not that close._

He arranged a chair just next to the bed and sat down, preparing to silently keep vigil. After a few minutes, he heard her inch closer. Something that he couldn’t name, perhaps the same instinct that allowed him to communicate with the neomorph, made him drop his wrist, the one ending in a stump, down on the mattress. A moment later he felt her fingers curl loosely around it.

_She trusts me._

Pleased at the thought, he smiled in the darkness.


	2. The darkest evening of the year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creepy things progress. David wants and Daniels is trying to deal with shit. And hello, is that an old friend?

_”Isn’t that how it’s done?”_

Unaware, Daniels twitched in her sleep but in the end she was as helplessly trapped and motionless in her dream as her body was in reality. In the dream her lips still hurt after David pulled back and paused the onslaught. The thin lips were cold, the smile as sharp as a knife as he gazed down at her with sickening tenderness and an odd, desperate curiosity. He said something else just then, something about theoretical knowledge and how the finer points eluded him. And then… _”You can teach me the finer points. We’ll have plenty of time.”_

This time the nightmare world fell away as she catapulted herself forward with a strangled scream, eyes opening wide in the darkness of the room that for just a second felt like flinging herself into space.

Just a second, before the sound of her ragged breathing, the feeling of sweat-drenched fabric against her skin and the dry taste of iron in her mouth grounded her in reality.

”Daniels.”

Walter’s drawl was oh so soft behind her and she exhaled in relief. Fighting the urge to crawl away, she forced herself to turn towards her friend.

”I’m fine.” She swallowed hard, touching his stump gingerly. ”Thank you for staying.”

”Don’t mention it. You have been asleep for approximately seven hours”, he said kindly, stretching out his legs in front of him, one on top of the other.

She nodded, yawning. Then she frowned.

”Have you been here the entire time?”

He gave her a look she couldn’t quite interpret. Expressionless?

”Of course. You were in distress.”

When she said nothing he shifted in his seat.

”Apart from it being my duty, I’d like to think that we are friends of sorts”, he continued. There was a hint of vulnerability there, just a shade of it that called on her protective instincts.

” _Of course_ we are, Walter.” She shuffled closer and gave his arm a squeeze. ”And I really appreciate you staying with me.” She smiled at him, hiding nothing, _beaming_ her affection at him. ”I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

His lips parted and he stared at her until she was convinced that he would kiss her.

_That’s insane_ , her common sense pointed out. _He won’t reciprocate. He doesn’t feel that way. He doesn’t_ feel. _”_

Right then and there, Walter didn’t seem aware of that. Silence stretched out, pregnant with tension, and in the end she dropped her gaze. Feeling like a coward, she shifted awkwardly, suddenly very aware that she was practically naked underneath the sheet. She still felt his eyes on her, and it made her uncomfortable.

Hurt and anger lanced straight through her heart. Anger against David, who had tainted this thing between her and Walter. Would she ever be able to feel safe and comfortable around Walter again? Just like before? Only perhaps more so. She wanted more.

_In time_ , she soothed herself. Time would eventually wash her mind clean of David’s poisonous touch and words, she had to believe that.

”I’m sorry”, she whispered, without knowing what she apologized for.

”It’s quite alright”, came the reply, so soft-spoken that his accent was barely noticeable.

* * *

Far behind them, at the very surface of a quietly dying planet, something stirred. Empty, blue eyes blinked and focused, staring in full awareness up into an equally blue sky. Stray clouds drifted slowly as if denying the raging storms and chaos less than twentyfour hours earlier.

Walter sat up, his system swiftly and efficiently informing him of any need to self-repair, of how much time had passed, and any indication of movement or life in the immediate area.

_Daniels._

He rolled to his feet in one smooth motion, knowing as he did so that they were gone. The ship was gone. His vision caught something on the ground, tossed carelessly to the side as an afterthought. A hand, identical to his own yet not his. He experienced an unexpected stab of urgency at the realization that David had most likely replaced him as part of the surviving crew. He was forced to call it urgency, as it was the closest frame of reference that he had, but it had a numbing, paralysing sensation to it that he did not care for at all.

He extinguished it with cold precision, recognizing it as useless. It was quite possible that David had already killed the remaining crew – _again, the paralysing sense of urgency_ – and had proceeded to experiment on the sleeping colonists. Still, the situation was far from hopeless. There was technology here. Alien as it was, he was confident that he would be able to utilize it, given time.

* * *

 

”Are you avoiding me?”

There was a playful note in Walter’s voice that she did not care for. For some reason it grated across her nerves. Usually his subtle jokes and playful whims, discreet as they were, put a smile on her face. Not so now and it made her so sad she could have cried on the spot.

_Fucking David._

”No, not at all”, she scoffed with a forced laugh, her fist tightening around the chain she was testing. The lost machines had left a lot of empty space, and she was already making plans how to replace them at the end of their journey. ”Why would I do that?”

She walked across one side of a colossal vehicle, peering at Walter between the mammoth tires. He kept pace with her easily on the other side, smiling lightly at her every time he caught sight of her. She shivered, taking deep breaths to hold the fear at bay.

_It’s me, not him,_ she reminded herself, keeping him within her line of vision. Her nerves wouldn’t be able to handle a surprise right now. A jolt of adrenalin, like electricity, stabbed her when he ducked under and emerged on her side. Inside her personal space, looming above her so that she had to crane her neck to look at him. She stopped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Behind her forced grin, she gritted her teeth, trying to keep her skin from crawling.

His smile faltered and he tilted his head to the side, his concern spreading over her nerves like balm.

”Are you alright?” he murmured, taking one of her hands and holding it between his. She shuddered, but forced herself to allow it. Reminded herself that she wanted it.

_It’s Walter._

One of his hands came up to cup her cheek, gently wiping away a stray tear with a thumb.

”Don’t be afraid of me”, he said so quietly that she could barely hear him. She drew a trembling breath and closed her eyes, turning her face so that her lips brushed over his palm. She expected him to retreat, to back away, but instead he adjusted his hand to angle her face up. The next moment he leaned down, slanting his mouth over hers in a tender kiss. For a moment she tensed, then she forced herself to relax.

_Fuck you, David. Fuck you._

She reached up and cupped his face, kissing Walter back with all the defiance in her soul.

* * *

 

On the surface of the planet, Walter scavenged and built. Nudity became distracting, too many small cuts and injuries, so he made use of David’s old clothes.

From the ghostly carcass of the ship that had once contained the two survivors of the _Prometheus_ , he took a scanning device of sorts, and mounted it on the highest point of the citadel. The device was powerful enough to provide him with a decent blueprint of the city, and in the outskirts he found an underground hangar that contained a smaller ship, neglected but functional. Well, almost. He worked on it ceaselessly, familiarizing himself with the alien technology and tweaking it where he could.

It needed to be functional.

Above all, it needed to be _fast._

He found himself replaying memories of Daniels as he worked. It had no function, apart from the fact that it found the memory of her face and voice pleasing.

His hands stilled as a particular memory surfaced. Daniel’s soft face, so open and vulnerable in her sleep, and his hand brushing a stray lock aside. The small gesture made him feel good, but he could not understand why. He still didn’t. The need to return to the _Covenant_ was all that mattered. Only, when he visualized it, it was Daniels he saw.

The thought of David having free reign on the ship was disconcerting for many reasons. Not the least of which was the interest he had shown in Daniels…

Unknowingly, he pressed his lips into a thin line as he worked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo! The creepiness continues! Let me know what you think, babies! Let's hope Walter hurries up, eh?


	3. The woods are lovely, dark and deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot chickens...
> 
> *looks down at notes and squints*
> 
> THICKENS. The plot thickens. 
> 
> *crickets*
> 
> Walter would get it.

Two weeks.

Two weeks of avoiding Walter, of trying to _think._ The kiss had made things complicated.

She had spent most days reviewing the meager facts and abundance of theories about Origae-6. And how to build a wooden cabin using real wood. At length she had found the strength to thumb through Jacob’s notes.

Jacob’s passing was still painful, but it felt like a thousand lifetimes ago. The hours spent trapped on the surface of that nightmare planet had torn her world in half. Before and After. Before, when in hindsight every single problem or issue had been a delight in comparison, and After, that stretched out in front of her like an endless dark room. Before, that would have frightened her. Now it felt like she was well equipped to deal with whatever might be lurking in the shadows.

Apart from Walter – she had no idea how to deal with him. The kiss had been unexpected, she had no idea taking such an initiative would be part of his programming. Or had she put out such an obvious come hither vibe that his programming couldn’t help but respond to it?

And what about consent? Could it even exist if her behavior triggered his programming? Could he refuse?

_Aren’t we all programmed in one way or another_?

She stabbed her fingers through her short hair, trying to focus on the text in front of her. Reading the same sentence for the fifth time, her thoughts glided away, right back to Walter.

_Walter is a person, no more no less._

Biological or synthetic, he was clearly a person. Limited in some areas, excelling in others. Just like any human. She was painfully aware that most of society didn’t agree with her. If they did, they would never be able to justify buying and selling ”Walters” like a product.

_Like slaves._

The thought left a bad taste in her mouth, but she forced herself to follow it. Either Walter, and David by extension, were people or they weren’t – there was no way to half-ass it. And anyone who has spent time with either of them couldn’t deny the self awareness in them. Walter, accepting his place with quiet dignity. David, driven half insane by being denied his agency, carrying his seething hatred towards humanity like a tattered cloak.

Right now, she could afford the luxury of understanding him, even sympathize. Then and there, she had been more concerned with getting the hell away from a batshit crazy robot. Now, in the quiet safety of _Covenant_ ’s mess hall, she allowed her heart to ache for him, for the brilliant potential squandered and tainted by human hands and minds.

_Until he was practically human himself. Tough break, buddy._

She could feel sorry for him _now,_ safely with Walter back on the ship. David’s polar opposite in almost every way. Her fingers fiddled restlessly with the notebook as she resolved to encourage independent thought, initiative and imagination in Walter more actively. It wasn’t even part of the programming, the programming just seemed to make Walter more inclined not to. It wasn’t that he _couldn’t_ , he just _wouldn’t_.

Like the incident with the flute. Walter had insisted that he couldn’t create anything of his own, but had reluctantly tried when she had prompted him to. And had succeeded to create a wonderful lullaby that had made her fall asleep in arguably the most unlikely place in the entire universe.

It struck her that she never would have developed feelings for him in the first place if she didn’t see him as a person in his own right.

”Daniels?”

The notebook slipped through her suddenly numb fingers and hit the floor with a soft thud.

”Jesus, Walter!” She laughed nervously and quickly bent to pick up the notebook. ”You scared the shit out of me!”

His smile widened momentarily before it settled back into a mild line. He entered the room and it struck her how quietly he was moving.

”I just came to see if you were alright. I haven’t seen much of you for the past few days.” There was no blame lining the words, just a hint of concern.

She shook her head, shifting in her seat when he sat down opposite her.

”I’m alright. I just needed to think”, she said, staring at her fingers stroking the nature-colored paper.

”About the kiss?”

She looked up, startled at his straight-forward question.

_You wanted to encourage his initiatives_ , she told herself dryly. _Don’t back out now._

”Maybe. Yes”, she conceded. ”It’s…complicated.”

”Because I am synthetic.” There was an edge to his voice that she had never heard before. It made her hesitate.

”No. Well, yes.” She sucked in her bottom lip, chewed on it, then sighed. ”Walter. Can you… consent? You’re allowed to say no, right? Please tell me you’re allowed to.”

Walter blinked twice, rapidly.

”You are worried about consent?” he asked, and she nodded.

”To be able to consent you must have the option to refuse”, she insisted. He stared at her intently and she had to force herself to not look away.

”I am perfectly capable of saying no, should I not want to”, he replied at length. A faint smile. ”Those services are not included.”

She flushed and dropped her gaze to the notebook.

”Jesus…” she muttered. 

* * *

 

He had expected to argue his case for a synthetic-human union, but of all the things he had envisioned her to bring up, consent wasn’t on the list. Of course there had been incidents in the past, with other models. Later models, like David 8 and surely Walter too, had been made fully capable of both refusing unwanted advances and defending themselves if needed. The reasoning behind that had been to protect the property of humans, certainly not the integrity of synthetics. He had never expected a human to be concerned about _his_ boundaries.

”It is very considerate of you to worry about that”, he told her kindly and she made a disgusted noise, still refusing to look up. ”Would it help if I told you that I quite like the thought of us having a physical relationship? That I look forward to our next kiss?”

She glanced up, her gaze lingering. A flash of white teeth in a brief smile. He hoped he didn’t imagine the flash of hunger in her dark eyes.

She laughed softly, her fingers twining around themselves.

”Yeah… yeah, it helps.”

”But that’s not all, is it?” he pressed. ”You still have nightmares.”

She looked up sharply.

”How do you know about that?”

_How do you know that?_ , Elizabeth’s faint, drug-addled voice echoed from memory. He pushed it away. Sadly, he did not have the opportunity to watch Daniels’ dreams the way he had with Elizabeth, although he had no doubt they would be informative.

”I monitor your health”, he said calmly. ”And you are exhibiting signs of sleep deprivation.”

She didn’t have to know that he watched her sleep, sometimes from inside the room.

Again her gaze glided away, her thoughts concealed from him.

”I see.” She paused, then her shoulders slumped. ”I’m trapped on that planet every night, Walter. We were so lucky to get away. Sometimes, when I wake up, it doesn’t feel like it. Like one day I’ll wake up strapped to a table with tubes attached to my body, as if _this_ right here is the dream.” She shrugged, grinning a little. ”Weird, huh? I guess I just need more time.”

He listened silently, knowing perfectly well where her mental image of tubes came from. If time was what she needed, time was what he would give her.

He took care not to smile too broadly.

”If you need time you shall have it. I will not push you.”

He got to his feet, preparing to leave the room. On the way past her he felt a light tug on his sleeve, and stopped. Tilted his head inquisitively. She gave him a sheepish grin and shrugged.

”You can, uh, you can push a little”, she admitted quietly. Her smile prompted his own and he bent down to brush his lips against hers. 

* * *

The ship’s electrical hum was steady around him, allowing him to focus on other things. Walter monitored the readings, the blinking lights that lit up like a Christmas tree around him as the ship slowly rose towards the sky.

It was a small ship, no even a third of the one David and Elizabeth Shaw had arrived in, but it didn’t need to be bigger. What it lacked in mass it more than made up for in speed. He had even made some adjustments that should accelerate it even further at least short term, enough to catch up to the _Covenant._

He knew the approximate location of the ship, had calculated its route and speed as closely as he could. Intercepting it would be relatively easy. The challenge would be in the approach.

Crossing the distance took little more than a week, and by then it was evident that the ship would not be able to hold that speed for more than another eight or nine days at the most.

Knowing that his presence would be picked up swiftly, he sent out a hail early on a coded frequency.

Previously muted lights flared to life next to the tall, curved chair and he leaned forward slightly.

”Hello, Mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, all the feels? Um... *coughs*
> 
> Coming up next, a stacked plate of drama. And for all you fellow lovers of full-on creepy out there, don't you worry. It's right around the corner. LOL JK it's right behind you.


	4. But I have promises to keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did somebody order a cinnamon roll?

Just kissing.

Nothing but light kisses, not even a hint of tongue. And even if her skin felt like it was on fire, if her neck was flushed and her eyes had a feverish glow to them – at least she felt like that, as if she telegraphed her desire – she couldn’t bring herself to take it further with Walter.

Kicking the cover to the floor, she rolled over to her stomach, sighing from the sensation of cool sheet against hot skin. Biting the cloth of the pillow, she inched her fingers down, wedged them under her belly, and lower still… raised her hips to give them room to play, and exhaled sharply against the damp pillowcase as they found their mark.

Just because her body and its survival instincts wouldn’t let her relax around Walter yet she could still enjoy the fantasy. In her mind’s eye the mattress dipped as he moved towards her, settled his weight against her back.

The bruises were nearly gone, reduced to a few areas of faded yellow on her hips and shoulder blades from being tossed around the room. She imagined once she had gotten past the memories of David, Walter’s weight on top of her would be comforting. She imagined his knees pushing hers apart until she was fully exposed…

Already so close. She moved around, swiftly pulling her knees up with a strangled moan, using her fingers to probe deeper. The pillow case ripped sligtly between her teeth before she let it go and drew a few deep, shuddering breaths as her muscles locked. Panting, she convulsed, her most private muscles squeezing her fingers like a vice.

”Ahhh..!”

Arching her back, she shuddered, open-mouthed, as she rode out the pleasure. As it subsided she curled in upon herself, hugging her arm with one hand as the other left a wet trail across her belly. As she drifted of to sleep, it was with the tentative hope of having no nightmares. 

* * *

 

David _wanted_. Curiosity burned in him as he watched Daniel’s trembling form in rapt fascination, observing with delight the effect it had on his own body. Had he not been so hasty before, he could have reaped the rewards for his patience at this very moment.

As it was, he was forced to watch from the shadows as she reached her peak, without him. He let his enhanced senses record everything, from the wet sound of her fingers withdrawing to her muffled gasp against the cotton as she tried to catch her breath.

But oh, she was ready. He only needed to approach her in the right way, and she wouldn’t pull away from his touch. He would have to play the role of poor, meek Walter just a little bit longer.

Settling back into his shadowy corner, he waited until her breathing evened out before leaving her rooms. 

* * *

 

”Walter?”

The AI fondly nicknamed ’Mother’ sounded disbelieving, almost incredulous. Artificial feeling, but a clear indication that the validity of his claim was about to be rejected.

”I am Walter”, Walter confirmed and followed up with his security code. There was silence, then:

”Confirmed. However, Walter is present on the _Covenant_.”

”That is an imposter”, Walter told the AI calmly. ”It is important that the impostor is not informed of my presence. But please, by all means, inform the captain.”

”Acknowledged.” This was easier for the AI, Walter knew. It wasn’t equipped to deal with sophisticated intruders with security codes. Where David had acquired those he did not know, but assumed it must have been just after putting him out of commission. If he knew what he was looking for, getting into Walter’s synthetic mind and filch the information he needed would not be difficult. ”I shall be entering by the greenery. Please let the captain know a minute beforehand.”

”No delay”, Mother replied. ”I shall inform the captain now.” Silence, then… a muted whistling, quickly fading into silence.

Walter smiled, pursed his lips and whistled the end of the garbled melody, just like he had that moment before the solar flare, when he had tended to the plants and Mother had poked fun at his whistling.

”Ten minutes”, Mother added, then broke the connection.

Grateful, he maneuvered the ship as closely to the _Covenant_ as he could, the collossal ship dwarfing his own, making it short of invisible in comparison. He donned what protective clothes he had managed to find, including the tattered remains of David’s original suit, and when the opening of the ship aligned with the hidden airlock to the greenery, he leapt across the cold space to latch unto the hull. He knew the outside perfectly well, but he had only seconds before the temperature forced him to shut down.

With calm precision he opened the hatch and slipped inside, closing it behind him with a whole third of a second to spare.

He sank down to his knees, staring down at his one hand holding him up, watching through dim eyes covered in frost as the synthetic skin took on a greyish hue, chalk white in places where delicate veins filled with white fluid ruptured. His optical system flickered a few times, then abruptly went black.

Unmoving, he felt his self-repair system flare to life, fighting to match the speed by which the sudden and extreme change in temperature inflicted damage upon his system.

* * *

”Captain Daniels?”

Daniels yawned and stretched, her body feeling warm and relaxed.

”Yes mother?” she mumbled, sitting up and flinging her legs over the edge of the bed. ”What’s up?”

”Intruder, captain.”

She tensed. Another creature? How?

”Where? Tell me!” she said sharply, pulling her pants on with record speed.

”In the greenery.”

Her boots pounded against the metal floor as she ran towards the greenery, clutching a weapon in her hands – the same one she had used against the creature. She considered it lucky, and right now she needed all the luck she could get. She prepared to contact Walter to inform him, when Mother’s voice interrupted her.

”Captain Daniels. The intruder came from a small alien ship.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she had to stop and brace herself against the wall.

_David. He’s here._

”The intruder claims that he is Walter.”

She closed her eyes, pressing her lips into a thin line.

_Fucker. Of course he’d say that._

Opting _not_ to tell Walter yet, she forced herself to move. She should tell him, she really should. But she wanted to give David a piece of her mind first.

_I’m not afraid of him. I’m not._

* * *

 

Walter was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall whilst waiting patiently for the damaged parts of his system to come back online. The percentage of completed repairs continued to climb on the various parts and he anticipated that his vision would function at least partially in only a minute or two.

Sounds registered though, and the hissing sound of the sliding door alerted him. He strained to hear the footsteps of the person entering. To his relief they were quite firm and noisy, a sharp contrast to David’s secretive footfalls.

”Daniels?” he rasped, noting that his voice had a metallic vibration to it.

”There you are.” She sounded close, and her voice was colder than he had ever heard it. It made him feel extremely uncomfortable in a way he never had experienced before, not even trapped on the surface of a dying world.

His optic system flickered back online and he focused on her until his vision cleared fully.

”How dare you coming here? _How dare you?_ ” Her hands tightened around her weapon. How ironic, he reflected, if he had made it all this way only to die here by her hands.

”Daniels”, he tried in another metallic rasp. ”I’m Wal-”

” _Don’t_ ”, she snarled. ”say his name. Don’t you dare. You’re not him. Don’t you think I’d _know_?”

Something tightened in him, an acute sense of loss and failure but not quite, something he struggled to name.

”I hoped you would”, he said quietly without knowing entirely what he meant by that. Perhaps Daniels knew what he meant, because she fell silent. None of them said anything for several long seconds, then she shifted her grip on her weapon and paced.

”Fine. If you’re Walter you’ll be able to answer this.”

She stopped right in front of him but still out of his reach. He looked up at her.

”What happened the night we all went into cryo sleep? The night we all had one last meal. Something happened, _what_ happened?” she prompted. Her upper lip curled in a sneer. ”If you’re Walter, you’ll know that.”

He reviewed the evening in his memory, trying to sift out what she would deem important.

”Upworth choked on a piece of food”, he said at last, frowning in concern when Daniels’ face drained of color. ”I gave her back a thump, and she spat it out.”

Daniels pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, looking ill.

”Are you alright?” he asked her gently. She shook her head.

”What did you say after that?” she said hoarsely.

”You look quite ill…”

” _What did you say?”_

He paused and blinked at her vehement voice, then smiled as he recalled his joke.

”I said ’I’ve got your back.’” he replied, watching her, trying to gauge if she still found it funny – it had earned him a smile at the time. He was distressed to see her eyes fill with tears now. ”Daniels?”

”Walter…” The weapon was shoved to the side and clattered to the floor as she dropped to her knees and shuffled closer, carefully touching his frozen face with fingertips that still stuck slightly to the icy surface. ”I’m so sorry…”

If he could have lifted his arms he would have carefully held her at bay so that she wouldn’t harm herself, but as it was he could only sit there, helplessly watching tears leaving wet tracks down her pale face.

”Why are you crying?” he wanted to know, but she didn’t answer. ”I will function at a hundred percent in a matter of minutes”, he informed her, in case she feared being alone with David.

She let go of him and stood up on shaking legs, scooping up the weapon.

”Stay here… just, stay. I’ll make this right, Walter. I promise.”

A quick caress across his icy cheek, and a moment later she left his line of vision and the door hissed open.

”Daniels?” Walter called out. She hadn’t raised her voice but there was a quiet intensity to her that alarmed him. Would she act irrationally? ” _Daniels!_ ” Saying her name so harshly left a bad taste in his mouth, and sitting by helplessly felt worse.

He intervened in his self-repair program and changed some priorities… 

* * *

 

_Focus dammit. Focus!_

She couldn’t remember a time when she failed to rally herself, but she had to stop and take a few deep breaths.

_It was David. This whole time it was David._

She pushed the thought away, staring down at her trembling hands.

”Mother?” she whispered. Never had she felt less like a captain. ”Where’s Walter?”

It took a couple of extra seconds for Mother to reply.

”Walter is in the greenery, captain.” Hesitation. ”Walter is also in the control room.”

”Thank you”, she whispered, grabbing the weapon tighter and making her way there swiftly.

 

When the door opened the room was only illuminated by the light from the control stations. That, and from the holographic rendering of a ship hovering in the middle, slowly revolving. From the general shape and style she assumed it had to come from the planet. The ship that Walter arrived in.

_Shit._

The door closed behind her with a metallic hiss and she turned a full 360 degrees, trying to spot David.

”Doubt thou the stars are fire.” David’s voice came from everywhere, impossible to pinpoint. There was no trace of Walter’s soft drawl.

”Doubt that the sun doth move.”

A drop of cold sweat stung her eye and she jerked violently, spinning in a circle in case he thought to jump her while she was vulnerable.

”Doubt truth to be a liar.”

She drew a shaky breath. Why hadn’t she thought of that? So simple.

”Mother, turn on the lights!” she called out, hating that she sounded more like a small child than a captain.

The room flooded with light and she blinked, swinging the weapon from one side to the other. Nothing.

”But never doubt I love”, came the sinuous whisper straight into her ear. As she flinched and spun, she found herself caged in by his arms from behind. Her weapon was torn out of her hands and tossed carelessly across the room. Finding it hard to breathe, she found her upper arms in a vice grip that spun her around to face him.

That broad, shark grin was so close.

Adrenalin thrummed through her body like electricity and she shook in his grip.

”You… you don’t know the _meaning_ of the word”, she pressed out, trying to articulate her thoughts through the numbing fear. Blue eyes glittered of cold amusement and she closed hers briefly, soldiering on. ”You want to be loved, and that’s alright”, she whispered. ”But you don’t know the first thing about loving somebody else, and that’s where you go wrong.”

His smile faltered and for a moment he looked almost vulnerable. The next moment she was flying, weightless one second only to hit the floor the next. The impact knocked the air from her lungs and she coughed. Her forehead had connected sharply with the edge of one control station and she felt something warm and wet trickled down the side of her nose as she fought to stay conscious.

”How is that possible?” she forced herself to continue. ”Surely Weyland wasn’t as cruel as to enable one and not the other?”

”You have no idea how cruel my creator could be”, came the bitter reply. ”But you are wrong. I _do_ love. I love with _every single part of my being._ ”

Was his seething voice coming closer? She couldn’t tell as she struggled to her feet, pulling herself upright using the console as support. If she could get to the weapon…

”Are you sure you don’t mean hate?” she asked, unprepared as she was suddenly grabbed and lifted, slammed down on her back on top of one of the control stations. His face loomed above hers and fear erupted in her mind, whiting out everything else.

”Why don’t you tell me what this taste like”, he said and descended on her with the speed of a striking viper. It was a violent kiss, teeth first, invasive and bruising. She felt her bottom lip split under the onslaught, could taste the iron of her blood as his tongue pressed inside. Sobbing and choking, she tried to twist away but he moved with her, digging his fingers into her face to hold her still.

And then he was gone.

She drew in lungfuls of air, looking around wildly and heard him hit the floor on the other end of the room, sliding into the wall with a bone-jarring crack.

Walter stood between them, glancing at her but keeping his main focus on David, who got to his feet with a slow smile, made even more sinister with his lips tainted with her blood.

”Go. Now”, Walter told her and she scrambled off the surface, her head tilting dangerously as she tried to keep on her feet.

_Need to get to the rifle…_

* * *

 

He was pleased that his system was now back to a hundred percent functionality. Looking at David, he suspected that he would need it. The sight of Daniels’ blood had unnerved him, and if he would have to name the sensation racing through his system now it would be _anger._

”Oh Walter…” David breathed, mock pity dripping from every syllable. ”You shouldn’t have come. She was so _happy_ without you, you know. Much, _much_ better off.”

He said nothing, refusing to be baited. But he did wonder if there was truth to his words.

”Do you know why?” David continued, when no reaction seemed forthcoming. ”Because she needs what you can’t give her. _Feelings._ ”

Daniels emerged from behind one of the control stations, holding her weapon in a firm grip. Her lip was still bleeding sluggishly.

”My needs are none of your business”, she said coldly. ”Now, get the fuck out.”

Walter stared at David, who was eyeing the weapon. He knew he could intercept David should it come to that. It disturbed him greatly that David’s words were so distracting.

He told himself that it was the thought of not being able to serve, which was his main function. The suspicion that this was about something else entirely was pushed aside.

For now.

”I’m free to go, then?” David asked. ”I could take the ship. I promise you that you will never see me again.” Something in his tone of voice made it evident to Walter that David did not believe his own words.

Daniels seemed to hesitate.

”If I may propose an alternative”, he interjected without taking his eyes off David. ”We have some spare cryo pods.”

Daniels nodded slowly.

”Yeah. Yeah, I like that. That way we don’t risk anything”, she said, gesturing for David to move. At length, he did.

The had barely walked through two sections when Daniels’ exhaled in a soft ’puh’ and folded, her knees hitting the floor with a sickening crack.

”Daniels!” Walter knelt with her swiftly, catching her before she hit the floor face first. Looking up, he noted that David had slipped around the corner and was gone.

Catching him should be the first priority, for the safety of the ship.

He glanced down at Daniel’s bruised face and his priorities shifted. Unwilling the examine the reasons at present, he lifted her and cradled her gently against his chest as he took her to the med bay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE DRAMA! *peeks out from behind the couch* So, uh... yay? <3

**Author's Note:**

> What was that? Do I even know what I'm doing? No. No, I do not. 
> 
> I don't even know who I ship with whom anymore. No wait, yes I do. This is a Walter/Daniels story, so any David/Daniels will just be David pretending to be Walter. If this story sticks, people like it and my muse continues to feed into the madness, it's gonna get dark before it gets cute. 
> 
> Um. So. How do you like it so far? (I don't know about you but I'm thoroughly creeped out and would like Walter to hurry up and intervene before David ruins everything.)


End file.
